Nov 19, 2009

Kindle in Canada update

So! Exactly eight months after I had to go through all that rigamarole to get my hands on a Kindle 2, Amazon has finally rolled it out in Canada! I'm not even a little sorry I didn't wait - the amount of reading, working, and playing I've done on Bookie McClicks since its arrival has been well worth the extra shipping charges.

Now - how about that wireless? I know maybe it's a little soon, but I can say for certain that I can't get wireless connectivity from where I am currently sitting. I'd check the rest of the apartment, but the guinea pig is asleep in my lap and I don't want to wake her up and make her cross.

But let's say for the sake of argument that I still can't get a connection. Why? I want to start getting sample chapters without having to drive to New York!

EDIT: The coverage map on Amazon shows Montreal as being well covered by 3G connectivity. The "information for international customers" details on Amazon, however, uses the phrasing "Customers in Canada will enjoy..." which would seem to imply that they'll hook us up in their own sweet time. Being treated like they're doing me a favor by letting me buy stuff from them is by far my favorite part of the Amazon experience. And by favorite I mean somebody needs to flog Jeff Bezos. Now.

UPDATE: So Amazon's response to my inquiry is basically "hah, sorry - you're shit outta luck. Your model won't get wireless in Canada." So, basically, everybody who bought the Kindle 2 prior to now got a worse model for a higher price, which means they've made the resale value of all these US wireless models $0 because...who would buy them when you can get a better thing for the same price? No trade-in is mentioned. So all these businesspeople who bought Kindles to use internationally must be as irritated as I am. Stay tuned...

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